Athens-based artist Insane51 is far from crazy as his artistic alter ego may suggest. Born in 1992, it wasn’t till 2007 as a 15-year old that Insane51 (aka Stathis Tsavalias) picked up the spray can as an art-making tool to start his new graffiti hobby. Classic style writing graffiti is far from what he is known for today, so let’s fast forward to 2021 to the annual METROPOLINK Festival in Heidelberg- Germany, where we were lucky enough to not only see the artwork “Lust” come to life, but also to have a chat and learn more about what Insane51 is really famous for at the moment.
Let’s talk about “Lust”
As his image titled “Lust” came to life, the first question we had was, “what is anaglyphic anyway”? This word we often hear when reading articles referring to the artist. The dictionary meaning told us “a composite picture printed in two colors that produces a three-dimensional image when viewed through spectacles having lenses of corresponding colors”. For Insane51, it was simply the result of some pre-festival ideas that he experimented with, after having being inspired by the 3D movies you watch while wearing those funny 3D glasses. Having painted and developed this style ever since Insane51 has found a red and blue niche in street art that he has managed to make his own. And with a little help from his favorite Montana BLACK and GOLD cans, Insane51 brings those ideas to life!
“what is anaglyphic anyway”
The mural “Lust”, which was being created for the METROPOLINK festival in Heidelberg, Germany, explores a new idea Insane51 is working on internationally, which puts the spotlight on the “The 7 Deadly Sins”. The first of the series “Pride” was painted in his hometown of Athens, enabling “Lust” to be the conversation-provoking second mural in the series.
In Roman mythology, the punishment for lust, the second of the 7 sins was to be “burned in fire and brimstone”. Although not as graphic as those words might be, Insane51 managed to capture essence of the concept with an array of visual symbols such as smoke and the color blue (the symbolic color of lust).
“burned in fire and brimstone”
With a manor that was well detached from sins or bad behavior, Insane51 spoke candidly about the nature of his art, his love of travel, and his connection to his hometown Athens. Press play so you can see and hear it from the source, in an interview with Insane51.
Photography Jordan Katz/MontanaCans, DNA Collective